


By the seaside

by Loopstagirl



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: AU, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-22
Updated: 2014-10-02
Packaged: 2018-02-10 00:05:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2003226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Loopstagirl/pseuds/Loopstagirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arthur had left everything about his old life behind and he was more than happy about that, thank you very much.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing. 
> 
> Written for the Camelot-Land prompts: `investigation` and `looking out over the sea`.

It was funny looking back now, Arthur couldn’t help but muse. He hadn’t wanted to come here. It had felt like a punishment, being sent into exile or isolation because he had lost the big business deal with the rivalling company. It had hardly been his fault; he hadn’t even been working for his father for a month by then and had said from the beginning it would have been better if Morgana took the lead. But trying to say no to Uther Pendragon was not something that ever went down well.

Two weeks after the deal had fallen through, Arthur found himself being told that he was going to investigate a small town. Scoping it out for a place for potential business. Arthur had only had to take one glance at the map – and not find the town on it – to know what his father was doing. He wanted Arthur out in the middle of nowhere seeing if it was a good place to stick a few homes and a golf course so that his father could add in a retirement package to the old men he was trying to persuade to come on board.

Well, Arthur had come here.

And then he had never left.

He had done his job, there could be no denying that. He found out everything there was to know about the quaint town of Ealdor and reported it back. How many citizens, how many shops. How everyone knew everyone and a stuffy businessman would have no place retiring to somewhere like this. It might have been small and out of the way, but it was not what Arthur was expecting.

He thought it would have been full of old people. There were a few. His new boss, for one thing, could have easily been his father’s father. Yet there were more people his own age and Arthur knew why. The sea was the biggest attraction by far, the waves just right for surfing.

“Why are you thinking this early?” A voice grumbled and Arthur looked down and smiled. Merlin had a habit of nestling so deeply into his arms, it was like he was trying to make sure that Arthur didn’t up and leave in the night. He had only done that the once and now his boyfriend didn’t let him forget it. And that was the first night they had ever slept together and Arthur had had a mental crisis in the middle of the night, left, got hopelessly lost, had his car broken down and been towed back to town by Merlin’s best mate the next morning.

All in all, it had been so embarrassing that he had never done it again.

He told his father that he was staying to find if the place could be used as something more suitable, that he was going to continue his investigations and see if anything profitable was going to come from it. He knew the man knew it was a lie just as much as Arthur did. The reason he knew his father knew, however, was the fact that money had stopped arriving in his bank account the week after Arthur had said it. Without realising, he knew his words had somehow been taken as his resignation letter and that his father knew he was only investigating what sort of life he could make for himself in a backwards town.

“It’s not that early. I have to be in work in an hour.” Arthur brushed his lips across Merlin’s forehead as he spoke, glancing out of the window to see what kind of day it was going to be. The skies were clear, glinting off the sea and beckoning invitingly. Considering he had been raised to be a businessman, Arthur never thought that he would have found himself happy teaching sports at the local school here. Gaius had seen him having a kick around with some of Merlin’s – well, _his_ friends – and realised that Arthur had more talent than he was revealing. Apparently everyone else was employed or hopeless for the job and Arthur had found himself with a new career before he could blink.

It wasn’t the pay that he was used to, but it was better than being cut off without a penny. At least, that was what Arthur had been telling himself initially before realising that was a lie and he was loving it.

“Well, I don’t,” Merlin grumbled, flipping them with surprising speed for someone who claimed to hate mornings. Arthur grinned, knowing what was coming.

Sure enough, he was running from the cottage forty five minutes later still eating a piece of toast and trying not to limp, even as Merlin’s laughter still rang in his ears.

He had met the man after a week of being here. Two weeks after that, they had started dating rather than insulting each other and Arthur had fallen fast and hard for the local bar owner. Thankfully, Merlin seemed to have fallen with the same speed. It had helped when Merlin had found Arthur sleeping in his car – not having admitted to his new boyfriend or friends he had no money (this was before Gaius had seen him) – and had dragged him home.

At least Arthur could say he had slept on the sofa the first night.

Every night since then, however, had been about wild sex, even with Merlin coming in late and Arthur having to leave early. Somehow, it suited them and before Arthur had so much as blinked, he had been here six months and found his love for the place (and Merlin) seemed to be just increasing.

He took his class down to the beach that morning, the way he usually did if the weather permitted. Setting his rules for where he would allow them to go, he had them stake out goals and begin practising their footwork with a couple of balls. It seemed strange that such a small town was so competitive. Gwen came down to help him – mainly because they needed another adult for this many ten year olds and Arthur was (finally) on the last part of his first aid course but hadn’t qualified yet. But the children were behaving and before he knew what he was doing, he was glancing towards the restaurant that overlooked the sea.

With a quick whisper to Gwen that he would be five seconds, Arthur sprinted up to it, booked a table for early evening and ran back before anyone knew he was missing. He knew Merlin wasn’t working tonight. He owned the local pub – The Great Dragon – after having inherited it from his father. Arthur knew Gwaine had helped out more than once financially in the past and Lancelot – their local tender – had the hots for Gwen. It was amazing how welcome they had all made him feel. But although Merlin trusted his staff – Gwaine was known to pull himself a drink for every customer, but they still made money – he liked to make sure the lock up went okay.

The rest of the day passed far too slowly for Arthur’s liking and he almost ran home. There was no denying that being in a town like this, with a new job, had done him the world of good. His hair had lightened and there was now a faint scattering of freckles across his face, much to Merlin’s amusement. He had tanned and lost weight, no more eating frantically at a desk and stressing about things that actually had nothing to do with him.

All in all, he felt life was good.

The look on Merlin’s face when Arthur announced they were going out made him simply grin, and the smile was still on his face when they left the house, hand in hand, after Arthur had slipped into Merlin’s shower and shown him how much he had missed him all day. `Destiny` might have been the only good restaurant in the town, but the constantly changing menu meant Arthur didn’t think he would ever get bored of it.

They had a good table, with the sea practically lapping under their seats. The sound of it was relaxing and Arthur found that he was reaching across the table and taking Merlin’s hand after they had ordered.

“What’s got you in such a good mood?” Merlin asked, smiling even as he squeezed Arthur’s hand. Arthur shrugged.

“It’s just… Jesus Christ!”

“Jesus Christ has you in a good mood? I didn’t know you were religious.”

“No, I… I can’t believe it.” Arthur simply stared over Merlin’s shoulder at the door, unable to believe what he was seeing. It couldn’t be. Yet it was. But Arthur had absolutely no idea what his father would be doing in a town that his sat-nav wouldn’t even knew existed.

“Arthur?” Merlin’s smile slipped and he glanced around. It was obvious that although he didn’t know who Uther was, he knew it was that party that was making Arthur react. After all, a herd (Arthur couldn’t think of a better word for it) of smartly dressed businessmen trooping into Ealdor wasn’t exactly something common.

“Who is it?”

“My father,” Arthur knew he sounded as bewildered to Merlin as he did to himself. Before he knew what he was doing, he had stood up. Merlin followed suit, slipping his hand into Arthur’s and instantly giving it a squeeze. Arthur returned the gesture, grateful for the support. He still thought his father had just wanted him out of the way when he sent him here, and had never thought to re-establish contact now his life was going just the way he wanted it.

Naturally, their movement drew Uther’s attention. Arthur had a feeling the man had known this was where Arthur would be tonight. It was just the sort of thing that he would do.

“Arthur? I didn’t recognise you, what do you think you are wearing?”

“What do you think you are doing here?” Arthur said in a cold voice. His father smiled at him, but Arthur wasn’t fooled. Since being here he had come to realise just how much his father had controlled his life. Arthur wasn’t allowed to have fun, he wasn’t allowed to be gay… he just had to work. Right now, he was managing to have fun _at_ work and had a more than healthy love-life for the first time ever. No wonder his father didn’t recognise him.

“Following up on your investigations, of course. They weren’t nearly satisfactory enough, and the fact that you opted to stay in this…place,” Uther paused, his eyes roaming over Merlin with a barely concealed sneer, “meant I knew I was missing out on something. Just look out over that sea, Arthur…”

“You are missing out on nothing, Father. This place is not somewhere you can just stamp your mark on. Gentlemen, you have had a wasted trip. I don’t know what Uther Pendragon has told you, but there is nothing here for you.” Arthur knew his voice had slipped back into the tone of a businessman and he could see the astonishment on Merlin’s face. Arthur had told him everything about his life before Ealdor – long talks in the night had him revealing more than he even knew he had been feeling – but he had never seen this side of him.

“Will you excuse us for a moment?” There was ice in Uther’s voice and he grabbed Arthur’s arm, hauling him outside before his son could protest. Merlin’s hand slipped from Arthur’s at the jolting movement. Once outside, Arthur tore free.

“I know why you are really here and I’m not coming back. I’m happy here, Father.”

“Happy? What do you know about happiness? One village boy bending over for you and you think you know life.”

“I know I’m living it far more here than I ever was back in Camelot. I hated the city life, Father, I know that now.”

“Nonsense. You had a future, a career ahead of you. I’ve come to take you home.”

“I am home.”

“Now you are just being childish.”

“I think your son made his choice clear, Sir. If I were you, I suggest you wrap up whatever business you have and allow us to continue our meal.” Just as Merlin had never seen the other side to Arthur, Arthur had never heard his partner sound like this. He knew Merlin had a tough side – his dominating nature in bed for one thing, not to mention running a pub meant knowing how to handle unpleasant people when they had had one too many – but it was something else seeing him actually act upon it when they were supposed to be on a date.

“I don’t know who you think you are -,”

“This is Merlin,” Arthur said calmly, taking his lover’s hand. “He’s my partner.”

Uther went almost purple with rage and Arthur smirked. For too long he had been denying his sexuality because of his father’s anger. But this was his life now, and he was no longer a child that Uther could drag back home after he had stayed out after curfew. There was nothing the man could do and it felt fabulous.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t how his father saw it. Before Arthur saw it coming, his father was swinging for them. Who he was aiming for, Arthur wasn’t quite sure. But he didn’t need to know. For Merlin was suddenly in front of him, casually catching his father’s wrist and in one movement, bending it up behind his back. It didn’t matter that Uther was twice his size, there was clearly something about Merlin that Arthur hadn’t realised before.

With one nudge, Merlin sent him stumbling towards the water’s edge. Arthur wasn’t sure whether it was a good thing or not that his father managed to stop himself before he fell in.

“Shall we go back inside, Arthur?” Merlin’s voice was carrying and Arthur knew it was deliberate. Arthur, however, glanced at his father and shook his head.

“I think I would rather just go home for dessert,” he said, making sure his own voice was loud enough that his father would hear. Uther straightened up and shot them a venomous look.

“Never consider yourself my son again,” he spat. Arthur barely reacted even though Merlin sucked in a sharp breath.

“Don’t worry, I won’t. Come on, Merlin, let’s go home. You need to screw my brains out several times tonight.” Keeping Merlin’s hand in his, Arthur stalked forward.

“My investigations are over, Sir,” he hissed as he passed the man he had once called father. He knew Uther had bitten off more than he could chew coming here though. Arthur recognised at least one of the men he had been with. Rodor wouldn’t have stood for this sort of behaviour, especially since his own daughter had been with her girlfriend for some time now.

Feeling satisfied that he had officially left his own life behind and caused his father some issues along the way, Arthur let Merlin take him home.

Home to their cottage, with their bedroom overlooking the sea.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've only written this one extra chapter so far, but you never know, more might crop up in the future. But thought I would at least get this one up for now.

“What are you thinking about?”

Arthur glanced up from where he was sprawled across the bed, instantly grinning at seeing Merlin standing at the end of the bed and looking down at him in concern. Arthur didn’t see the need for concern; the moon was coming through the window and they were both naked. He reached up a hand and pulled Merlin down onto him, eagerly chasing his lover’s lips. Merlin let it happen for a while before pulling back. His hands cupped Arthur’s cheeks as he looked into his eyes.

“I haven’t seen you look this pensive since your father. What’s wrong?”

“I was just thinking,” Arthur murmured, reaching up so he could slide his fingers through Merlin’s hair. Again, Merlin allowed the contact but didn’t want to change the subject.

“About?”

“Is it so wrong I’m thinking?”

“When I’m planning to shag your brain out, yeah. You won’t be able to afterwards so you’ll have to tell me now.”

Despite himself, Arthur laughed. He entwined their fingers, pulling Merlin down onto the man was lying pressed into Arthur’s side. For a moment, he could only hold him close. But Merlin seemed to realise that he was gathering his thoughts rather than avoiding the question.

“I miss my old home,” Arthur muttered softly, staring out of the window. He felt Merlin tense in his arms and quickly pressed on. “No, that’s not right. There are some people I miss from my old life. I used to spend days with them – my sister, my best mate – and I haven’t heard a word from them since my father came here.”

“Then ring them, you plonker,” Merlin sat up so he could stare down at Arthur. Arthur, however, shook his head.

“I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“What if they don’t want anything to do with me?”

“Arthur, listen to me,” Merlin stayed sitting up, his face unusually serious. Not everything about their relationship was all fun and laughter; long talks into the night admitting things that they had never told anyone else made them closer than ever. But it wasn’t often that Merlin looked like that and Arthur had to resist the urge to pout. He wanted Merlin’s smile.

“Anyone who doesn’t want anything to do with you is a fool. You already said they knew you were gay, so what’s the big revelation apart from you moving on?”

“It’s not them so much,” Arthur muttered, glancing at Merlin before looking away. “I think it’s my father; they’ve probably been forbidden to contact me. Both work at his company, Merlin. There is too much on the line…”

“So they’ve been forbidden to contact you. That doesn’t stop you contacting them and seeing what is happening.” Merlin said firmly and Arthur could only stare at him. It was so obvious, why hadn’t he thought about it? It was as if his father disowning him had meant Arthur had cut all ties to his previous life – including his friends. But that wasn’t his father’s doing, not the way Arthur had been playing him. That had just been him. Arthur groaned at what an idiot he had been, thumping his head back into the pillows and shutting his eyes with the hope the world would just go away so it couldn’t mock him any longer. He could feel a finger lightly stroking down his cheek.

“Why don’t you call them first thing?” Merlin murmured softly, no judgement in his voice. Arthur nodded, refusing to open his eyes. He had brought this upon himself, but had a feeling his father knew what he would do. Considering the man had never approved of him, it unnerved Arthur how predictable he seemed to be. Uther had clearly known disinheriting him would be easy; Arthur would isolate himself without realising he was doing it.

His thoughts were leading him into a dark mood until he felt a sure hand wrapping firmly around him and his eyes flew open with a gasp. Merlin smirked.

“I thought that might get your attention,” he said coyly. Merlin cleared knew what Arthur needed, for he just sunk onto him and started riding him with vigour, head thrown back, eyes closed and lips parted. Arthur was content to let him do the work for a while, before the lust got the better of him. Flattening his feet against the bed, he grabbed Merlin’s hips and rocked his own, causing them both to gasp at the sensation.

They tumbled together late into the night, Arthur’s anger at himself meaning he was more fired up than usual. Merlin didn’t seem to mind; he knew it was what Arthur needed and said nothing when Arthur flipped them, pinning Merlin beneath him and driving into him hard and fast.

When they were finally spent and collapsed in a sweaty pile, Arthur found Merlin back in his arms. He gently combed his fingers through the man’s mussed hair, kissing his temple gently.

“Thank you,” he whispered, his voice tender compared to how his actions had been. Merlin twisted his head with a content smile on his face, capturing Arthur’s lips and kissing him sweetly for a while.

“Phone them first thing, love. At least that way you will know and you’ll know you tried.” Arthur nodded, feeling Merlin falling asleep in his arms.

But he lay awake long into the night, worrying about what was going to happen. He had always had a strange relationship with his sister and never would have thought it would be Morgana that he missed. But seeing her wasn’t the only reason he wanted to talk to her. Arthur knew things were more than serious with Merlin; he had given up his old life for him after all. If there was one thing Arthur still wanted, however, it was Morgana and Leon’s approval. He wanted them to meet Merlin and he wanted them to like him.

If he couldn’t have his father’s approval, then he would settle for his closest friends. He wanted Merlin to meet someone from his old life that actually still cared about him.

MMM

“They’re not coming, are they?” Arthur didn’t notice his fingers were playing with each other until Merlin took his hand. Merlin had an exasperated smile on his face and Arthur knew this was not the first time he had said something along those lines that morning.

It was half term and both Morgana and Leon had managed to secure time off work, although what they told his father, Arthur had no idea. Uther didn’t exactly approve of holidays and Arthur was convinced he would get suspicious they both wanted time off at the same time. As far as he was aware, their only connection to each other was Arthur. Then again, he hadn’t been the one to walk in on Morgana straddling Leon in his office chair.

“You need to relax, babe. It’s the holidays, you know the traffic will be hell. They’re only ten minutes late, that’s nothing for the journey they’ve had.”

“Well, I can’t relax. Not until they are here.” Arthur didn’t mean to snap, but he was on edge. Merlin clearly thought so too, for he simply lifted the hand he was holding and sucked one of Arthur’s fingers into his mouth.

“W-what are you doing?”

“Relaxing you,” Merlin mumbled, sucking and licking gently until it went straight to Arthur’s cock. He groaned, glancing at the empty road before yanking Merlin into a heated kiss. He could feel himself harden quickly and Merlin’s breathless gasp indicated he was feeling the same.

That was when Arthur’s phone rang.

Trying to breathe normally – but letting Merlin keep him pressed against the wall with his knee very firmly between Arthur’s legs – Arthur glanced at the caller ID and grinned.

“Leon.”

“ _He’s driving. We’re stuck in bloody traffic, Arthur, I’m so sorry. I swear to god I’m going to kill this prat in front, what the hell, man?”_

 _“_ Morgana, talk to me, not the car.”

“ _Right. We’re going to be about half an hour.”_

“See you then,” Arthur shook his head fondly as he hung up. His sister had never been good at long car journeys, it had been the bane of their youth when their father had wanted them to go to the country house every holiday.

“Well?”

“We’ve got half an hour.”

Merlin didn’t need to be told twice. He plucked the phone out of Arthur’s hand and tossed it on the table before unzipping him and swallowing him down. Arthur’s fingers found Merlin’s hair even as his head hit the wall behind him with a thud.

When the car pulled in thirty four minutes later, Arthur still had a somewhat dazed look on his face and Merlin was smirking with satisfaction at distracting him. But Arthur felt his heart skip a beat when the engine stopped and the door began to open.

“They came for you, Arthur,” Merlin whispered, squeezing his hand. Arthur returned the gesture before letting go and taking a step forward. That was as far as he got before Morgana had thrown himself into his arms, hugging him fiercely before stepping back and slapping him. Hard. Arthur winced.

“That’s for taking so long to call. Father said you wanted nothing to do with us.”

“And you believed him?”

“I didn’t have a choice, he somehow got your number blocked from the phones at work, then deleted it out of mine when I went round for dinner.”

Arthur swore, but fingers folded around his again. He smiled gratefully at Merlin, feeling his anger ebbing away – just the way Merlin knew it would. Morgana stepped back with an interested look in her eye.

“I was going to ask what you’ve been doing here but I think the better question is, _who_ have you been doing? Morgana Pendragon,” she stuck out her hand and Merlin awkwardly took it.

“Merlin Emrys,” he muttered and Arthur grinned. His partner was fierce and dominant – and had been even when meeting his father. But there was something about Morgana that made everyone quake and Arthur felt things adopting a sense of normality that some things hadn’t changed.

“Don’t scare him, Morgs,” a voice sounded and Arthur grinned as Leon appeared. His arm slipped around Morgana’s waist, but he grasped Arthur’s arm in the way they had always done. “Long time no see, mate. You look good.”

Arthur grinned. He knew he did; country life had suited him. He was fit, tanned and more importantly; happy. He knew it showed.

“Leon, Merlin.”

“Heard all about you,” Merlin grinned, taking the initiative this time and shaking Leon’s hand. Leon grimaced.

“I would love to say the same but someone disappeared off the face of the Earth and I’ve heard nothing about anything.”

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry. I was an idiot. Can we let it go now?”

“Only when you’ve told me every single juicy thing you’ve been up to since being here,” Morgana declared, taking Arthur’s arm and letting him steer her into the house. Merlin went to help Leon with the bags and Arthur grinned; he was sure the two men would get along.

“Never mind that… I saw that arm around your waist. Official now is it?”

“Only outside the office,” Morgana admitted, and Arthur felt his smile widen at the fact she blushed. Nothing made Morgana blush. “You know Father wouldn’t approve. Getting away the two of us though… I think it will be good.”

“So outside of the office…. Apart from lunch time fucks behind a locked door.”

Morgana hit him on the arm and Arthur felt as if everything was right in the world. Especially when – halfway through the tour of his new home – Morgana admitted that Merlin seemed good for him and that was a good enough reason in her books for Arthur to keep him. The look on her face was priceless when Arthur admitted it would be more Merlin keeping him; Merlin was certainly the more possessive of the two.

“You’ve changed,” Morgana murmured. Arthur looked at her, knowing what she meant. He had always been in control, even during sex back in the city.

“No. I’ve just let go and stopped trying to be who Father wants me to be.”

“I’m glad. You look happy,” Morgana squeezed his arm and then stepped away as Leon and Merlin joined them. Merlin instantly wrapped his arm around Arthur’s waist and Arthur grinned, leaning into it.

“I thought we could go for a walk along the beach before dinner?” Merlin said quietly and Arthur nodded in agreement. Leon and Morgana liked the sound of that plan and went for showers and to change after their long journey. Arthur and Merlin sat waiting for them in the lounge.

“I like them,” Merlin said softly, “they care for you.”

“I’m glad they came,” Arthur admitted. “I should have guessed that Father would be involved somehow with ensuring they didn’t call me. He faked an email to Leon basically telling him that I hated him and never wanted to talk to him again. No wonder he didn’t phone.”

“Don’t think of it now, love. They’re here because you asked them to come and you’ve got the whole week with them.” Merlin had managed to secure a few days off work to help play host, but they both knew it was just as important that Arthur had time with his old friends on his own. But then the smile slipped from Merlin’s face a little.

“Just…” Merlin didn’t seem to know what he wanted to say and Arthur shifted in concern slightly.

“What?”

“Don’t let them persuade you to go back, Arthur.” There was such worry in Merlin’s voice that Arthur instantly took his hand and pressed his lips to the back of it.

“Go back where? Everything that I could ever want is right here. You’re right here.” The relief radiating from Merlin washed over Arthur in a wave and before he knew it, Merlin was on his lap, his hands in Arthur’s hair as he kissed him deeply.

“Your father is an idiot but his actions meant I got you. I can’t hate him that much,” the man murmured between kisses. Arthur responded before regretfully pulling away. He hadn’t seen his friends in years, he wasn’t about to let them walk in on that. Not yet. Merlin grinned and pecked his nose before sliding off his lap again, just in time for Morgana and Leon to walk through the door.

Arthur wasn’t sure he recognised them out of official clothes. He had certainly never seen his sister in a summer dress before, nor Leon in shorts. He smiled, climbing to his feet and pulling Merlin with him as they led the way down to the beach.

Watching the sunset with his arms wrapped around the man he loved and his best friend and sister by his side, Arthur realised what he had said to Merlin was true. Why would he go anywhere when everything was just perfect the way it was?


End file.
